Why Life of Pi Should Be Part of The Literary Canon
Dear Literary Canon Board of Directors, I am writing this letter because I believe that the book “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel should be included in the literary canon. It is a phenomenal piece of literature that made me feel something that no other book has made me feel. The first reason I believe “Life of Pi” should be included in the literary canon is because it caused me to look at the world differently. Not only did it do that, it also brought some useful knowledge to my attention.
If you believe in everything, soon enough you’ll end up not believing in anything at all, be prepared for anything and everything and most importantly, do not give up on anything. The second reason is because there is a major implied twist that caught my attention after a little thinking. Near the end, Pi wakes up in a hospital bed and tells his story. Actually he tells his stories. One is about how his ship sank and he set up shop on a emergency lifeboat accompanied by a bengal tiger (Richard Parker), an orangutan, a zebra and a hyena.
The other story is about how his ship sank and he set up shop on the lifeboat with his mother, a sailor and a cook. So, either Pi was with a bunch of wild animals or, maybe worse, maybe he was with humans who had to take up murder and cannibalism to survive. Which would mean instead of witnessing a hyena kill an orangutan and eat a zebra, he witnessed the cook murder his mother and eat a sailor. The final reason is because the novel gives it’s readers the choice to decide which actually happened (personal preference). The two stories that were told by Pi were both plausible, we don’t know what actually happened and it is never explained.
It leaves us all having to question. Did Pi survive on a lifeboat with wild animals, or did Pi survive on a lifeboat with wilder humans? Even though we may not want to, most of us will lean toward the more tragic side, Pi was with human beings. As you can see, “Life of Pi” deserves to be part of the literary canon because of all of these reasons, but above all, it needs to be part of the literary canon simply because it is a classic novel, so it should be looked at as one. Sincerely, Concerned Reader.
